Day 130. Spanish stroll (9/5/13)

(Soundtrack: Ian Prowse's 'Here I Lie' album. Had it on repeat all morning. It's  an album that's about family, love, socialism and sense of place. It's the songs of working men. Some of this may be very relevant in a second or two.)

This is how it works.

We know this is how it works.

It works like this every time and it's highlighted every single time and words of understanding are expressed. And nothing changes.

The team you support reaches the final of a major European competition in a sport that still, ostensibly, appeals most to the hearts of the working classes. A sport that has rested its entire existence on the talents of, mostly, working class kids made good.

And we know it's not a working class sport any longer, know that it hasn't been for decades, know that in the last thirty years it has become more and more the property of the media and the mega-rich. We know that what they want in the ground is the casual fan who will spend money on souvenirs as part of a possible once in a lifetime experience.

And I have no issue with those fans. They have a great time and everybody should be entitled to once in a lifetime experiences.

But on the back of the media and the mega rich come the opportunists.

And god knows, the opportunists are everywhere.

The final itself is the province of 'the football family'. We know that as well. Finals are always the province of the football family.

So the 2019 final between Liverpool and Spurs will take place in Atletico Madrid's new Metripolitano stadium, a stadium that holds 67,829 people.

Obviously each team will receive 16, 613 tickets. Because the other 35,000 have to go too... other people? Competition winners? Corporate guests? Representatives of something or other.

Again, we know this. It's always been the way. UEFA will gladly watch fans at club level pay to see games all season, will use the images of their passion to market their global product, but when it comes to the sharp end of the whole enterprise? No, we'd really like our mates to see this if it's okay with you.

It's not. It never has been. And we voice that every time. But they very obviously don't care in the slightest about the customer base they depend on. Because they know that we will always come back.

So, those who've been to all home games and at least one European game are guaranteed a ticket. That's as it should be. They've put the miles in on this. Everybody who has been to all six home legs in the competition enters a ballot. Which is generally a one in five chance of being able to obtain a ticket that may be in the £60 bracket, or may be in the £514 bracket. No real way of being sure on that.

While those other 35,000 tickets have a terrible tendency to slip out to the black market so that touts can make their customary killing. Again, we know this. It has never been any different.

Then there's the other opportunists.

The flights. Those flights that leave from Speke on a daily basis half empty with seats to Madrid going for as little as £22 for a one way journey are now sitting quite comfortably at £500. Want to fly direct to Madrid? I've got a lovely two hour flight leaving for you at ten past six in the morning on the Saturday, takes two hours twenty-five, comes home Sunday night with a change. Five hours twenty coming back.

That's £1412.

One thousand, four hundred and twelve pounds for a return flight to Spain.

Is there anybody not disgusted by that concept?

Well, EasyJet, clearly. They're obviously sound with that one.

And don't even think about trying to get a hotel. We're sleeping on the streets on Saturday night.

So we all try to circumvent this. And there are those out there who are really good at this. I have friends who booked in January, in the sales, just in case. I'm not that smart, not that organised. Our Keith is the organised one on this. He got the Gatwick to Alicante/Alicante to Venice to Gatwick flights for a decent price before Spurs beat Ajax and made Gatwick's prices find a new level to play at as well.

I tried to balance the flight/hotel/train/car hire side of things, couldn't get my head round it. So booked a week in Alicante instead.

Won that one.

Then woke this morning to find that had been cancelled. The third party I'd booked through couldn't fulfil the flights as the flight provider had increased their fares.

Annoyed, inconvenienced, not even vaguely surprised.

A half hour phone conversation later and we had flights from Nottingham.

And our Keith has booked our train from Alicante to Valencia to Madrid on the Saturday morning. They fly into Alicante late on Friday night. By which time I'll have a really lovely tan.

I'll be in Madrid. I'll be delighted to be in Madrid and I'll have a fantastic time.

But it shouldn't have to be like this.

UEFA should recognise that it has a duty to the fans. Should recognise that without the fans its game becomes an empty spectacle.

UEFA should ensure that the clubs each receive 25,000 of the 67,000 tickets. They've still got 17,000 tickets for their 'family' that way and they've a full stadium making their product look really bloody attractive to advertisers.

On travel? No idea. How about the clubs charter flights for the fans at sensible levels, how about UEFA structure decent travel options with major corporate partners so that the people who are already paying for expensive tickets have a chance of attending without entering into debt? How about airlines and hotels not looking at an opportunity to make money as being an opportunity to make far more money than they ever could before?

Your profits on this run have just been massively boosted by an event that you really didn't budget for, how about just not indulging in this level of greed?

There's been a statement today from an ex-Tory MP saying that the public are on the verge of losing faith in capitalism.

On the verge? Really? You think we're on the verge?

We're so far past the verge that the verge is now only a rumour.

Something has to change.